Peter Dutton has been excoriated for setting up a fundraiser for flood victims. 

Federal Defence Minister and member for the Queensland seat of Dickson, Peter Dutton, has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise $25,000 after a “rain bomb” wreaked havoc on his local Brisbane community.

Almost immediately, social media users began questioning why a Cabinet minister could not fund flood relief from the government’s coffers.

“Want to remind everyone that Disaster Relief is literally the only job the Federal Government has when it comes to natural disasters,” one Twitter user wrote.

“Isn’t this the role of government? Y’know, the one you’re a part of,” another asked. 

The federal government controls several disaster relief and recovery funds, and can offer payments for people and families impacted by the flood.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the Commonwealth will now use these too. 

“I think that this is a complete storm in a tea cup and shows you what a sewer Twitter is,” Mr Frydenberg says.

“What Peter has done here, and I spoke to him this morning – it's simply just offering further help from the local community to those who are in need.

“What we are doing as a federal government, of which Peter is a very senior member, is providing very substantial financial assistance to families, to businesses as we've done in the past.”

The government’s disaster recovery payment of $1000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child will come online soon.